Rose Bruno Bailey's site about weight loss, fitness, philanthropy, and growing as a person

Simple but profound advice: Be happy

(Sorry I haven’t blogged in a little while. We’re still adjusting to northern California and I’ve been busy with work, some new poetry projects, and of course, the fabulous Melissa Bender workouts. Later this weekend I plan to add a list of charities that I’ve helped through this My Change For A Ten project, and I’ll be back to blogging more next week. Thank you, as always, for reading.)

The Dalai Lama says, quite simply, that the purpose of life is to be happy.

To be happy. What a wonderful concept. We are all chasing down happiness. Is there happiness in material gains? Happiness in what we achieve and how we go about doing it? Sometimes if we spend a life chasing happiness down the wrong ally we end up smack face in a dead end with nowhere to go. My friend Ted wrote about this a few times on his blog, including the idea of “being content” and the idea that happiness is actually a U-Curve.I believe happiness is love, and loving others and all creatures of the universe. Happiness can be found in nature and not a mall. Happiness is giving to others and spending out days creating rather than spending. (That’s basically why I started this blog!) Yes, the whole discussion of money and happiness is an old one. Money does offer freedom and with that freedom there are less stresses about security for the future and more time to do the endeavors you are passionate about. I get the importance of financial freedom. When that green piece of paper becomes the only thing you strive for then it becomes more of an empty goal even if your bank account is full. Balance is one of the keys to happiness. Dive into crystal clear waters, climb a tree. Worry less, smile more.

Sometimes it takes a mere reminder to let you know how lucky you really are to be alive.I was sitting at the train station, listening to my music when my vision caught a sight from across the tracks. It was a woman in a wheel chair who obviously had no movement in any of her limbs, her companion and their adoring dog. As I sat and watched this family interact with one another, I was reminded what unconditional love is all about. I watched the lady smile from ear to ear as the man gave her a sip of something cool to drink, and the dog vying for both of their attention. The epitome’ of love and family. I was not the only one that was watching, it was apparent that this moment did not go unnoticed by the commuters surrounding me. A beautiful and poignant lesson to remind me and others of the power of life and love.

Moments like this make me realize why I love to help others, and that giving back is so rewarding. Everyone deserves to be loved and appreciated, and we are all the same connected to the core that is our humanity. I admit the last weeks have been difficult, and I have challenges I am trying to overcome. But such a moment makes me realize my challenges are just minor glitches in an otherwise life full of much abundance. My challenges can be overcome, and I am here to make a difference and help others with their larger and more monumental challenges in life.

This reminds me why I chose to combine my weight loss endeavors with giving back to society. I already enjoyed helping others, but I needed to help myself become healthy again and I feel it was the perfect marriage of giving to myself and giving back. In the process I have met myself.

I am working on my latest charity and I will announce when I am on my way to deliver what I have collected. I am keeping quiet until I am on my way, since I want to make sure everything goes as planned.

Glitches in life are just that, tests to see how we will react. It is how we overcome such snafus in life that show our true character. Today I am happy. I am breathing, I have a roof over my head and a warm cup of coffee to sooth my soul. I am happy I have a cold and not anything more detrimental. I am happy my challenges can be overcome, and I am healthy enough to give back to others who need it most. I will just be.